Mute

Chapter 3

A/N- The pic in chapter 2 is Riley. The pic in this chapter is Reagan! Also, self harm trigger warning for this chapter!

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Riley's POV

I woke up to a white ceiling. As I looked beside me, I noticed an empty chair. The walls were also white and bare with only a light switch and some nearly empty shelves on them. There was a door directly in front of me that was slightly opened, just a crack.

Where am I? What happened? Where's Phoenix?

That's when it hit me.

-flashback-

I was walking down the corridors of the school hallway and came across one that looked empty. Almost like it had been empty since, well, forever.

Hmm, guess I made a wrong turn... 

Unfortunately, I couldn't help but get curious. I walked down the long, empty hallway of spooky and abandoned classrooms and flickering lights. I walked past one classroom and the door was wide open. I looked inside but saw nothing of importance, so I kept going.

I reached the end of the hallway and when I turned around to go back, I saw Reagan. She walked towards me smirking. She had two other girls following her. They were twins only one had blonde hair, one had brown. They were smirking too. As if they thought they could scare me, they all flipped their hair.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little miss brave!" Reagan sneered.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't little miss narcissist?" I fired back.

"Really? Narcissist? That's the best you've got? Wow, she really is weak." The two twins laughed.

"So, are we just gonna stand here? Or are we gonna carry out the plan?" The blonde one said.

"Oh, shut up Britt! We haven't gotten that far yet." the Brunette said to the blonde- or Britt.

"I know, I know," Britt replied.

"SHUT IT!" Yelled Reagan, and they both immediately silenced.

"Now, let's get down to business, shall we? I want to offer you a deal.. I won't beat you up, as long as you stay away from Phoenix and out of my way! Deal?"

"No! You can't control me. I can hang out with Phoenix if I want to, and you can't stop me. I'm not going to fall victim to one of your empty threats." I told her. She looked furious but not surprised about me fighting back. Maybe I came off as feisty already.

"Well then, I guess it's time to show you how wrong you are. Britt, Brianne, let's get this over with." Reagan told the 2 minions.

Next thing I knew, I was pushed against the wall, punches being thrown in my face, and kicks being angled into my stomach. I felt the blood trickle down my face and the pain in my stomach increasing. But, I refused to fight back and risk getting thrown out of  school on the first day. Then, Reagan pulled out a knife and threw me to the ground. She crouched beside me and picked up my wrists, cutting lines into them. 

"Now, when people see these, they will think you are a self-harming little brat and stay clear of you. Nobody here deals with people who are so messed up that they do that to themselves." Then she looked at my other wrist and saw all the bracelets. She smirked and pulled the bracelets out of the way, revealing mostly healed scars already there, a few new ones. What can I say, moving around all of the time is hard.

"Well, guess I didn't have to do it myself then. Oops, too late now. Come on girls, before anyone sees us." Reagan marched off with the twins following, a triumphant and evil smirk on her face. I slumped to the ground and curled up into a little ball. I didn't want anyone to see those scars, especially her, but it's too late now. 

I was still in my little ball when Phoenix knelt down beside me and picked me up.

-end of flashback-

My eyes teared up and the tears spilled from them, running down my cheeks. How did I let this happen on my first day?

Suddenly the bathroom door opened and Phoenix walked out. I hadn't even noticed that door. I quickly wiped my tears and sat up. I felt so ashamed. He sat down in the chair and held my hand, looking into my eyes. There was something so calming in them, like he was trying to tell me it was going to be okay.

"Hi," I whispered.

'Hi, ' he mouthed.

"Am I allowed to go?" I asked. He nodded. I attempted getting up and was successful as pain shot through my stomach, causing me to crumble and nearly fall over.

Phoenix stood up with me and grabbed my right hand. It was only then that I realized my wrist was wrapped up in white bandages. I looked up at Phoenix and my eyes teared up. He just hugged me and rubbed my back as I sobbed into his chest. I wasn't crying because I did it to myself, because you know I didn't, I was crying because I was pretty sure he saw my other wrist too. My bracelets were gone, so I could only imagine he did. Those were the only things I wanted to keep a secret from everyone. They were the only things I had to be ashamed of. I couldn't help but ask. 

"Did... did you see my other wrist?" I asked, knowing the answer already but just wanting to make sure. I looked down for a moment before remembering he doesn't talk. When I looked back up he smiled sadly at me.

He nodded.

'Why?' He mouthed.

"I-I'd rather not talk about it right now..." He nodded. I knew I could tell him, I just didn't know when or how to explain and I definitely didn't want to do it in a nurses office. We walked out of the nurses office and towards the front of the school, since the day ended already.

"Thank you Phoenix. You know, for staying with me." I looked into his eyes, giving any sense of sincerity I could. I truly did appreciate him helping me. 

'You're welcome.' He signed to me.

I smiled at him and gave him a long hug. He wrapped his arms around me in return and squeezed me in a comforting way. I felt his care through this hug and I knew I just made a really good friend. It was crazy how close we had gotten already. 

"I'll see you later." I said smiling as I got in my car. He moved out of the way and I pulled out and drove home.

As I drove home, I thought about how today had gone and how it couldn't have possibly been any worse than that. I smiled at the thought of Phoenix and I frowned at the thought of what happened to me but I mostly stared at the road, lost in thought.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

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A/N- heeeyyyyyy! Before I get comments about the self-harm part, please don't think the wrong way! I just think it connects Phoenix and Riley closer because then they both have something bringing them down and it will help them bound... So yeah. 

Anyways! The next chapter will have a picture of the twins, Britt and Brianne.

**DISCLAIMER** The above authors note and most of this chapter was written in 2015 when I was only thirteen! If I had written it now, I wouldn't have included the self harming thing at all as I think it needed to be written in a lot better than it has been. But going through now as I edit, I realize I can't take it out of the book as it is finished and it would mess up the overall story line. It would also take a lot longer to edit and take a lot more energy and time and I was hoping to keep this as a side project. 

Thanks for reading.

-DBS

DISCLAIMER PART 2

Soooo, it is now 2020 and the above disclaimer was wrote two years ago. I now am able to put the real reason that I added the self harm concept into this book and it was mainly to bring awareness to the self harm epidemic. I want people to know they're not alone in this and that other people go through the same thing, even me. So yeah, this part was edited (again) Feb. 11, 2020.